"A Chance Meeting"
The shifter monk Kiiba Render, working his way south to Breland and, ultimately, Sharn, decided to rest just off the road that circles west of Lake Galifar. Noticing a group of three humans heading into the deep of the wood, further west from the lake, he decided to investigate. The humans were towing a small hand cart and in it a canvas sack that bulged as if concealing a small child. Concerned now, Kiiba stealthily cut the group off. He dropped from a tree onto the first and sprung into a second, ready to finish the third, who had surprisingly already been dispatched by the sacks former occupant, a slender gnome wielding a blade, who introduced himself as Tizish Brightinker(Tiz). Tiz was an agent of the church, sent to infiltration the Emerald Claw presence in the area, but his cover was blown and he was abducted. Together, the two agreed to investigate just what was going on in these woods.
Elsewhere, it's M-17389-978's last day on the job in Sharn, working for House Cannith. After decades of peerless service, M has earned his retirement and seeks to venture into the world and find meaning in his life. His office cubical packed, his supervisor calls him in for one last task: deliver a small wrapped package to the town of Xandrar, north of Sharn, on the border of the Eldeen Reaches. Being a kind, curious, and a dutiful sort, M accepts, and boards a lightning rail before meeting up with his caravan. He is placed in the last wagon, alongside a halfling couple and their young daughter and a pair of unshaven human men.
In the cart, Tiz and Kiiba find barrels of grain and one barrel of some unidentifiable powder. Pocketing a small amount, they head down the path, eliminating a pair of sentries and working their way parallel to the main road, that opens into a small clearing where a couple tents have been pitched, along with a hastily constructed small cabin. Two dozen Emerald Claw meander throughout the camp, moving barrels from other carts and pooling them near the center of camp. Using the trees to their advantage, Kiiba and Tiz wored their way to the back of the cabin, and peered in the windows. A man dressed in elegant full plate was preparing for some sort of meeting, tending to a ledger and checking himself in the mirror, awating his guards to escort him out. Taking advantage of their small window of chance, Tiz crept into a side room, cast silence on the cabin and the two attacked. After a brief, mute, scuffle, they rapidly began searching the drawers for any clues. In addtion to the ledger, that Tiz grabbed, Kiiba discovered a silvered amulet of the Claw on his neck and a keyring at his side. Grabbing both, he wheeled around to the only locked door, opening it with the key. Stairs led down into a makeshift dungeon, where they found three children (two boys, one girl) and quickly carried them upstairs and out the window — just as the guards found their commander's body, and the camp exploded in activity.
The caravan trip was rather uneventful M thought, that was until the two humans drew swords and attacked the halfling couple. As the parents folded, one man grabbed the screaming child and the other turned his attention to the now standing Warforged. Knowing that he had the perfect scroll for this situation, M reached into his pouch, clumsily spilling its contents across the wagon floor. As he bent down to retrieve them, the rogue's attacks sliced the air just above his head, accompanied by profanity. The cart came to a screeching halt as the driver was killed, and the man stumbled back, falling from the wagon M pulling the scroll of Light from his pouch (wrong one!). His comrade, setting the child down, drew his weapons once more, slashing at the Warforged but only managing to shred his scroll (darn it!). The third bandit came around from behind, shooting a crossbow into his friend (rolled a 1 >.<), killing him. As the frustrated sword wielder clamored back into the wagon to finish the job, M found his scroll, blowing a hole two feet across through the kidnapper and jettisoning his charred body from the wagon into the last assailant, who decided to flee, and perhaps give up this life of crime.
Kiiba ran with the two boys under his arms, the girl riding on his back, hands wrapped in his furry mane, sprinting toward the road near the lake. Tiz stayed behind, picking off a pair of pursuers one by one before meeting up with the shifter at the river, and the five of them headed south to the nearest town: Xandrar. After hitching a ride, they caught a few hours of sleep, during which the little girl decided to talk with her rescuer. Kiiba became inexplicably fond of the girl, who he named Raine, and vowed to make sure she was returned safely to her family. When they arrived in town, they took the children to the constables office, who notified the local Soverign-Host priests, that returned the two boys to their frantic parents, who had apparently been attacked a week before, travelling the same road. The girl, it seems, has no living family left, and, if not adopted, would be sent to live without parents at an orphanage. Kiiba's own mother was slain before he could even walk, so he could not wish such a life on someone he treasured so, and adopted the child: Raine Render.
Giving the mother a health potion saved her life, but the father was done for. The remainder of the caravan journey was univentful, and M arrived in Xandrar a minor hero, in addition to the two strangers that had rescued some kidnapped children from unknown captors to the north. While finding it interesting, M still had a job to complete, and so went to the bank in search of Thondred, the banker. It was closed, scheduled to open in a few short hours, just enough time for him to power down and replenish his infusions for the day. Kiiba and Tiz took note of the Warforged leaning by the bank, and were informed that he had single handedly defended a caravan from banditry and saved not one life, but two. Impressed, they decided to talk to him after they too caught up on some well deserved rest.
Rewards: 450 XP, masterwork bastard sword, key-ring, silvered amulet, unreadable ledger, curious powder.